The Business Management IA assesses students' ability to analyze businesses, use business tools, and collect data. However, due to the vague criteria for the IA, many students find it highly challenging. It shocking the number of students that perform poorly in the IA. But we are here to change that!
In this blog, I will outline the IA structure that has been used time and time again by our tutors to achieve high marks in the Business IA. Following this guide as strictly as possible and I am certain you will get a 7.
Before we dive into the IA's structure, let's briefly discuss the IA in general.
Business IA General Overview
For HL students, the IA accounts for 25% of their final grade, making it the most crucial assessment piece.
The primary distinction between the HL and SL IA is that HL students need to analyze a forward-thinking business decision, whereas SL students need to write a commentary on a business's operations.
Most importantly, the HL IA heavily relies on primary data, while SL students have the option to solely collect secondary data. Let's examine examples of SL and HL research questions to further illustrate this distinction.
SL Research Question:
How have Google's changes in organizational structure and leadership style affected its corporate culture, employee productivity, and efficiency?
Please note that SL students can choose large businesses since primary market research is not a priority.
HL Research Question:
Should TNN invest in a laser cutter to decrease costs and gain control over operations in an attempt to increase revenue and overall profitability?
Note that "TNN" is not a massive Fortune 500 company, so it is possible to collect valuable primary data. Additionally, the question is forward-facing, meaning the IA will evaluate the pros and cons of a potential business decision.
The Business IA consists of two separate reports. The first report is the "Research Proposal," where students justify and plan their research. The second document is the actual IA, where students analyze all the data and evaluate their business decision.
How to structure a Level 7 business IA
Research Proposal (Total 500 Words)
The research proposal is the precursor to the IA and should be written in the future tense as the primary research has yet to be conducted.
Research Proposal Title Page
State your Research Questions
The session number, e.g., Nov22
Word count
Research Question
The research question is one of the most important parts of your IA; therefore, it is worthwhile to write a good one from the start. Here are a few points to refine your research questions:
Always state the name of the business in the form of an abbreviation.
Always include a list of criteria that you will use to evaluate the business decision.
For example, in the following research question:
“Should TNN invest in a laser cutter to decrease costs and gain control over operations, in an attempt to increase revenue and overall profitability?”
The criteria that will be evaluated are the revenue and profitability increase of this plan.
Other aspects you should avoid are:
Making an IA that is heavily dependent on the industry rather than the company
Being too broad with your research questions
IAs that require information you do not have access to
Choosing to focus on an IA that is not prevalent in the IB syllabus
2. Rationale (~150 Words)
Give a summary of the business
What type of business is it? Private limited? Un-incorporated?
What are its main operations?
What are its values and mission?
What is your justification for choosing this business?
Outline the problem that the business is facing.
What is the potential solution that is looking to be implemented? Why has this not been implemented in the past?
3. Theoretical Framework
Make a table and list the topics that will be covered in your IA.
Make a justification column explaining why this topic is needed in your IA.
TIP: Be selective with the tools that you are using. Using too many means that you will spread your word count too thin and not be able to do in-depth analysis.
4. Methodology
Include all the sources of primary and secondary data, along with why you have included them.
Use multiple sources of primary data. This will help you in Criteria B.
TIP: Include as many primary sources as possible, even if you are only going to refer to them once.
5. Anticipated Difficulties
Talk about difficulties that are industry and business-specific along with potential solutions.
Avoid mentioning obvious problems and those that are within your control.
Eg: “It will be hard to arrange a meeting with the CEO.” This is not a good difficulty as you can rearrange to a more convenient time.
6. Action Plan
Use a Gantt Chart to show the dates of each task.
Create the base model in excel.
Always include modifications as it shows that you actually used the graph.
TIP: For this page only, change the layout to landscape. This is the only way to fit the whole chart on one page.
Business Written Report (Total word count: 2000)
The written report is the main component of your IA. It should be written in the past tense since you have already conducted your research and analysis. As there is no page limit for business IAs, I highly recommend double spacing. This will increase the legibility of your IA.
1. Title Page
Include research questions, session number, executive summary word count, and the main IA word count.
The page number should restart from 1 on this page.
2. Acknowledgment
Write a relatively short paragraph expressing your gratitude. This is not needed in the IA and does not count in the word count.
3. Table of Contents
The table of contents should only include the major headings, i.e., all the numbered points in this list.
The table of contents must start with the executive summary at the top. TIP: It is easier if you complete this page as one of the last parts of your IA.
4. Executive Summary (200 words, excluded from your report's word count)
TIP: This section provides an extremely condensed version of your IA, and the key is to use a high concentration of business terminology. Read through a business paper 1 case-study to get an idea of the level of detail expected.
TIP: Leave this section until last, after finishing your entire IA.
TIP: Divide the summary into three short paragraphs:
Quickly summarize the business and the issue that has arisen.
Briefly state all primary and secondary data that was used, as well as any other business tools employed for analysis.
Briefly summarize the conclusion and main recommendations. Also, mention a brief line about the assumptions and limitations of your findings.
5. Introduction (~150 Words)
TIP: The introduction is very similar to the rationale. It's not a bad idea to rewrite your rationale.
Include the company name and abbreviation.
State and explain the company’s operations.
Outline current strategic goals.
Explain the problem the business is facing and propose a potential solution.
Describe what prevented the company from implementing this solution in the past.
At the end, include your research question and justify how you reached it.
6. Methodology (~150 Words)
TIP: This section is dedicated to giving a brief outline of the research and data you have collected.
State the primary and secondary sources you used, e.g., “Interview with the owner, survey with customers, and observations at competitors.”
Make sure to emphasize the wide range of primary data you are using.
Discuss all the business tools you will be using and briefly justify why you are using them.
Mention any changes that you made to the method throughout the IA.
7. Limitations (~100 Words)
The limitation is aimed to discuss how valid your data is.
Include 2 or 3 points that may affect the reliability of your data. Some examples are:
Subjectivity in qualitative business analysis.
Financial data during times of a recession/boom may not be representative of regular business activity.
Customers of the workplace may be intentionally biased.
8. Main Results and Findings (~300 Words)
In this section, you will state all the data you have collected. Summarize all the qualitative data and calculate all the quantitative data.
Include a brief summary of the interview, with footnotes referring to the answers you are summarizing.
Include 2 or 3 graphs of the survey that you conducted. Only include necessary graphs in the main body of the document. Place all other graphs in the appendix and refer to them through footnotes.
Include all investment appraisal and financial ratio calculations. It is good practice to write the equation for all calculations that you do. In addition, all the financial information needs to be cited using footnotes.
Tip: If you are calculating ARR, I highly recommend using the table method. This is the most visually clear way of presenting calculations, especially if you are dealing with variable annual cash flow.
The main point to keep in mind is that all data, whether financial, quantitative, or qualitative, needs to be cited in the appendix using footnotes.
9. Analysis and Discussion (~1100 Words)
TIP: This criterion accounts for the largest number of marks, so spend the most amount of time dedicated to analyzing and evaluating. Here, analyze the data using business theory and assess if it supports or opposes the proposed research question's change. Analyze all the implications of the data in a sequential and coherent manner. For every different tool and primary research method that is used, you should dedicate a separate analysis section to it.
This section is where many students struggle, so here is a potential structure you can use:
Apply the theory and terminology from the business textbook when analyzing data.
Ensure that all analysis points are linked to the impact on internal and external stakeholders. For the main analysis section, it is recommended to use the 'snowball method', which is used in the mark schemes of business paper 1s. This method will be outlined below.
Conclude each section with a brief analysis of whether the tool supports or opposes the business decision, taking into consideration whether it is for the short or long term.
Add a section at the end of every tool where you discuss the limitations of the tool. For instance, for the Lewin's force field analysis, the ranking for the driving and restricting factors is subjective; this bias needs to be accounted for through the use of quantitative tools.
Always analyze the qualitative tools first then the quantitative tools as the qualitative data provides context to the reader.
10. Conclusion (~100 Words)
In the conclusion, you need to combine all the mini-conclusions together and evaluate if the short-term disadvantages out weight the long-term advantages or vice-versa.
State all the tools that are in support of the business decision and all the tools that are against it. long-term. Imagine a table
Tools that support that change | Tools that are against change |
Cash Flow Forcast | Interview |
Survey | Investment Appraisal |
SWOT Analysis | |
Force Field Analysis | |
Note: Do not include a table. You must explain the same concept in written form
As seen above, most tools support the decision, while some are against it. You must discuss and justify why the change must be implemented despite the disapproving interview and investment appraisal results. This process of weighing up the pros and cons will favorable for the evaluation and critical thinking criteria. ii. Discuss the limitations of your research; components that may have prevented you from reaching an established conclusion
11. Recommendation (~100 Words)
Limit your recommendations to three to ensure that you provide sufficient detail within the word count limits. Furthermore, ensure that your recommendations are coherent with your conclusion.
Provide recommendations for short-term actions (0-1 years) that the business can take to achieve quick results. These could range from contacting suppliers to making new investments.
Provide recommendations for long-term objectives (2-5 years). What can the business do to continue growing and profiting?
Include at least one recommendation for gathering additional information and conducting research. This additional research should be aligned with the limitations outlined earlier in the IA.
12. Bibliography
Alphabetize your sources
The format of the bibliography and citation is not relevant; however, it needs to be consistent throughout the IA.
13. Appendix
Include all primary data sources
Include all graphs and scripts of interviews
All financial data collected directly from the company also needs to be here.
As you write your IA, I highly encourage you to keep this blog open and add the following sections as you go. It is essential to include all these points, especially if you are aiming for a 7.
How to Analyze and Evaluate like a Level 7 Business Student (The Snowball Method)
The snowball method for analysis is something I came up with while I was in grade 12. It consistently allowed me to score in the high 80s in my business papers 1s and 2s. If you read any business paper 2 example answer, you will not find detailed and isolated discussions regarding single topics such as cash flow. Instead, you will find fluid analysis created by a chain of implications.
By a chain of implications, I mean constantly asking yourself the question: "So what? What is impacted by this change? Who will be affected? Why does it matter?" These are all important questions that you need to address in your analysis. The best way to do this is to continuously ask "so what" over and over again, hence why it is called the snowball method. Let's go over an example:
Imagine you are the owner of a school that lacks well-trained teachers. As a result, customer satisfaction has been low. The proposed solution is to increase the training of the teachers.
A low-level and one-dimensional analysis would be:
"Increasing teacher training would improve service quality, hence would improve customer satisfaction."
This analysis lacks sophistication and has a poor spread of business terminology. A high-quality analysis would discuss additional content, which continuously flows. See the example below.
“Implementing teacher training will result in more skilled teachers who are more motivated as suggested by the mastery component of Daniel Pink's theory of motivation. This change will likely have a positive impact on the school's corporate culture and reduce the school's labor turnover. Additionally, having specialized and highly skilled teachers will make it easier for the school to implement on-the-job training in the future, reducing training costs in the long term.”
The analysis represented as a continuous chain:
Implementing teacher training → more skilled teachers → increased motivation (Daniel Pink) → improved corporate culture → low labor turnover → teachers stay for longer at the school, gaining more experience and becoming more specialized → easier to implement on-the-job training → reducing training costs over the long term
As you can see, the second analysis discusses far more implications of the business decision and includes a high density of business terminology. This is the type of analysis you should be looking to replicate. Try to create a chain of events, showing where each business decision leads and how the effects trickle down to stakeholders.
I would highly encourage you to attempt to discuss as many business concepts as possible, at least those that are relevant to the IA. As a general guide, regardless of your proposed change, you must, to some extent, discuss the impact it will have on HR, operations, marketing, and finance.
Another important tip is to add variety to your analysis. Avoid having "an increase in profitability" as the outcome of all your analysis. This will be seen as one-dimensional by the IB markers, and you will be penalized in the analysis and evaluation criteria. Instead, try to discuss the impact your business decision will have on cash flow, revenue, working capital, working capital cycle, fixed and variable costs, short-term and long-term capital expenses, and more. The list goes on. Many low-performing business IAs tend to be hyper-focused on profit. Make your analysis multi-dimensional and discuss other components as well.
How to Layout a Level 7 Business IA
Unlike other IAs, the Business IA is lengthy. Therefore, it is crucial to have a good layout. Moreover, the layout accounts for 4 marks in the IA criteria, which could be the difference between a 7 and a 6.
I highly recommend using footnotes as a citation method. This will not only save you words, but it will also allow you to easily reference all your primary data.
Important note: In your IA, whenever you refer to primary data, it must be cited using footnotes. This includes all financial data used for investment appraisal and driving and restraining forces for Lewin's force field diagrams.
Be specific with your appendix references, particularly for the interview. Do not ambiguously state (Appendix 1: interview), instead say something like (Appendix 1: Interview with the owner - question 7). This layout can be seen in the image below.
2. Double-space your IA. This will help with legibility in your IA.
Make sure to have clean headings with few aesthetic features.
Font size should be 12 or 13 Arial, making sure it is consistent throughout the IA.
Make sure to bold and italicize important concepts that you want the marker to pay attention to.
3. Always caption your diagrams and include table headings. These headings should not be vague and should be as detailed as possible.
Although the business IA is confronting, if done right, it can be one of the most intellectually challenging and fun experiences of your IB journey. As a past IB student who scored 80% overall in their finals, I can confidently say that if you include all these components in your IA, you will perform very well.
There is only so much advice I can provide you over a blog. For personalized feedback on your IA, sign up for our IA feedback service.
Best of luck!
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